"MY MOON Princess, since when did you become the female lead in a romance novel? I thought you were the main character in a fantasy novel focused on child care and buttering up a scumbag emperor?"
Gosh.
Trevor only lived in Korea for five years, yet he had already learned how to talk like Neoma.
[Is this… my bad influence again?]
"Trevor, if you haven't noticed yet, I'm already a grown woman," Neoma said to the annoying demon boy. "The genre is bound to change as the main character grows up."
"But a romance subplot isn't necessary!" Trevor argued. "Take One P*ece for an example. Even after more than a thousand chapters, L*ffy doesn't have a canon love interest yet!"
"Isn't L*ffy an asexual or something?"
Trevor let out an exaggerated gasp. "Did you just assume his sexuality, my Moon Princess?"
"Right, my bad," she said, waving her hand. "Let's just drop this subject, okay?"
It wasn't only directed to Trevor this time.
She was speaking to Lewis, Ruto, Jasper oppa, and the Ancient Devil.
These dudes didn't leave even after Rubin Drayton ran away (after she 'ordered' the young lord to do so).
[Rubin Drayton, you owe me your life.]
"Let's go," Neoma said. "I have a shitty feeling about this entire trip."
"What happened?" Ruto asked cautiously. "I sensed Regina Crowell's presence earlier."
Ah, as expected of her ex-man.
To be honest, Neoma didn't know how to feel while looking at Ruto. Of course, it wasn't the first time she had seen her ex-man after her "eyes" were opened.
But she was still bothered by her conflicting emotions.
Neoma was relieved that she couldn't see Ruto's weakness because she was tired of learning how to kill the people around her.
However, she was also slightly annoyed that she didn't know how to kill Ruto.
[I've always thought I "allowed" Ruto to kill me. But I'm second-guessing it now. What if I don't actually know how to kill him?]
Hmm.
That was pretty annoying.
"Neoma?"
"You're right, Ruto. Regina was here earlier," Neoma said, avoiding Ruto's gaze. "Let's talk about that later. I'm worried about the other candidates." She turned to Lewis. "How was Prince Reevo when you left him to the Royal Archmage?"
"Not good, Princess Neoma," Lewis said. "He looks like he's about to croak."
Ouch.
As expected, Lewis really didn't care about other people.
Hmm.
Neoma looked up at the dark sky, the shitty feeling she had only got worse.
Then Regina Crowell's voice echoed in her mind.
<"Let's talk again later, Princess Neoma. For now, you need to return to the Royal Capital and stop wasting your time on this stupid Selection.">
That was Regina Crowell's last words before she left.
Of course, it wasn't like Neoma was a pushover who'd believe an enemy easily.
However, she wasn't the type to ignore her gut feeling.
"I need to stop the Selection and return to the Royal Capital," Neoma said firmly, then she looked at the young men in front of her. "But I need you to do something from me. This is an order from me– the one and only Imperial Princess of the empire. Is that okay?"
"Of course, Princess Neoma," Jasper oppa, still the youngest duke of the empire, answered right away. "What can I do for Your Imperial Highness?"
"Can you stay back and get rid of the remaining monsters here?"
Jasper oppa nodded. "As you command, Princess Neoma."
"If that's what you want, then I'll gladly do it for you, Princess Neoma," the Ancient Devil said, smiling. "But I'll be expecting a reward after this."
"Of course, I'll give you a reward," she said. "This is work, after all. But I get to decide what to give you."
The Ancient Devil just smiled and shrugged.
"I'll hunt down the most dangerous monster here and return to the Royal Capital," Ruto said. "I have a feeling I'll be needed there."
Neoma didn't respond to what Ruto said and just turned to Trevor. "You and Lewis are coming back with me to the Royal Capital."
***
"PRINCESS Neoma!"
Hmm?
Neoma had just finished asking Trevor, Juri, and Jeno to call back the candidates when Dahlia arrived.
Her secretary arrived with the group earlier.
But she asked Dahlia to check on the poor villages around.
"What happened, Dahlia?" Neoma asked right away. "Did you find something suspicious in the villages you visited?"
Dahlia shook her head. "The villages are normal so far, Princess Neoma. But I received a report from Lady Morrisley."
'Lady Morrisley' would be Sandie– Hanna's secretary.
"What did Sandie say?"
"People are protesting at the palace, and they're asking Princess Hanna to step down as the Crown Princess," Dahlia reported in urgency. "Apparently, it's because Princess Hanna is a Darkness attribute user. Lady Morrisley said the people even threw rotten milk at Princess Hanna. It looks like the crows are using fearmongering to create chaos in the Royal Capital."
"Those bastards…"
It wasn't Neoma who cursed.
She was actually surprised to hear Lewis curse, hence she turned to her "son" with a look of disbelief on his face.
[Oh, he's angry…]
Neoma patted Lewis on the back, then she turned to Dahlia. "Inform them that we're returning to the palace now, Dahlia."
Dahlia immediately nodded. "As you command, Princess Neoma."
After that, Dahlia excused herself and went to the tent to send a message to Sandie and Melvin.
[The three have a good communication link.]
Neoma then headed to the Royal Archmage's tent.
As if on cue, Abigail Barlowe just stepped out of the tent when she got there.
"How's Prince Reevo?" Neoma asked after exchanging a short greeting with the Royal Archmage. "Is he alright?"
"Prince Reevo is now out of danger, Princess Neoma," Abigail Barlowe, the Royal Archmage, said. "He already gained consciousness earlier, but he fell asleep after drinking the antidote I brewed. Rest assured, Prince Reevo will survive."
That was a relief to hear.
"Lady Barlowe, please prepare the portal again," Neoma said in a serious tone. "We're going back to the Royal Palace."
The Royal Archmage glanced at the sky before asking. "Is it because of the Darkness, Princess Neoma?"
She nodded in response. "That's right, Lady Barlowe. According to the report I received from the palace, the citizens are going crazy out of fear of Darkness."
Abigail Barlowe clenched her jaw, then she nodded. "I understand, Princess Neoma. We'll prepare the portal right away."
"Thank you," Neoma said, looking up at the dark sky again. "Those damned blobs of Darkness are almost swallowing the sun now."
***
HMM?
Rufus stopped in his tracks when he felt a sudden shift in the air.
He and the squad under his command were currently at the plaza for the commoners. After all, he received a report that the commoners are currently gathering in that place.
Hence, he brought his knights there to make sure nothing suspicious was happening.
[I also received a report saying that people are protesting at the palace while demanding for Hanna to step down as the Crown Princess.]
To be honest, he wanted to run to his daughter's side to protect her.
[But I know my little girl is already a grown woman who's capable of protecting herself.]
"Your Grace…!"
It was Jaxson Emmett, the vice-captain of the Black Hawk Knights, who warned him.
"I know," Rufus said, raising his hands to create a barrier to protect the entire plaza. "Tell the mages who came with us to create a shield and prioritize protecting the citizens!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Fortunately, Rufus and the other mages in his squad managed to create a barrier in time.
His barrier was actually a solid form of the Shadow Veil. It wasn't as sturdy as Princess Neoma's Dome, so he was grateful for the support of the mages with him. Hence, the barriers that protected the citizens withstood the things that fell from the sky.
Soon, the curious and worried voices of the citizens reached Rufus' ears.
"What are those things?"
"I don't know, but they look familiar."
"Ah! Aren't those things similar to the "tab" that Princess Neoma used before to show us what was happening inside the courthouse?"
Rufus had to agree with the citizens.
The stone tabs that were currently suspended in the air looked similar to the 'tabs' that Princess Neoma and her "children" invented.
[But I'm pretty sure those things don't belong to Princess Neoma.]
Rufus was about to order his knights to destroy the stone tabs, but he was distracted when the stone tabs suddenly lit up all at the same time…
… then Calyx's face occupied the entire 'monitor.'
Calyx, the dethroned prince, smiled widely.
<"Greetings to the people of the Great Moonasterion Empire.">
***
NERO CLENCHED his hands when several gigantic 'stone tabs' fell from the sky.
Of course, the tabs didn't touch the barrier protecting the entire Royal Palace.
However, the tabs were too big to ignore.
Because of the sudden appearance of those things, the people who came to the palace to protest stopped entering the People's Palace. Everyone, who was already calm a moment ago, looked anxious again while looking up at the tabs.
"Nero, it seems like the crows have prepared well," Hanna whispered to him. "Control your expressions and don't get mad at the people. It's only natural for them to get scared."
Haaah.
Hanna was right.
Hence, Nero took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I understand," he whispered back to his fiancé. "I'll keep my Lunacy in check."
But his patience was immediately tested when the stone tabs suddenly lit up.
Then, a few moments later, Calyx's face showed up.
[Argh.]
Nero almost puked on the spot.
<"Greetings to the people of the Great Moonasterion Empire.">
"That bastard doesn't have originality," Nero whispered bitterly. "Is he copying Neoma now?"
"He learns well, I have to give that to him," Hanna said, nodding. "But that background... Doesn't it look like he's in the mountains?"
Ah.
He suddenly felt a shiver down his spine.
"Neoma is in Mount Theron," Nero whispered. "Could it be…?"
<"Fucking fancy meeting you here, Calyx Dalton.">
Nero and Hanna gasped at the same time after hearing the familiar voice.
[Neoma…!]
<"Hey, adjust the camera here,"> Neoma's arrogant voice said in a loud and confident voice. <"You're scaring my people with your fugly face, so let them see my face to cleanse their eyes.">
<"I look like Prince Nero, so we technically look alike, too, Princess Neoma. How can you call me ugly?">
<"No, you're fucking ugly and you can't change my mind with logic.">
Hanna laughed softly.
Even Nero felt at ease while hearing Neoma's voice and ridiculous remarks.
[Everything will be fine now.]
***
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